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Penn State is top public university in Pennsylvania and 23rd among AAU public institutions

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State ranks 28th among national public universities and 60th overall out of 435 national universities listed in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” ranking for 2024, released Sept. 18. Penn State also ranks 23rd among Association of American Universities public institutions and is the top-ranked public university in Pennsylvania.

U.S. News defines “national universities” as schools that offer a full range of undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral degrees; in many cases they place strong emphasis on research.

“Strong placements in rankings such as U.S. News are but one metric to show that we are succeeding in our mission as Pennsylvania’s flagship, land-grant, public research university,” said Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz. “A Penn State degree is highly regarded around the world. Our $1 billion research enterprise is impacting humanity with new knowledge and enriching our students’ learning by bringing research experiences into the classroom. And the University takes pride in providing opportunities for first-generation students and incredibly talented individuals from diverse and low-income backgrounds as part of our land-grant mission to serve all Pennsylvanians.”

Undergraduate program rankings released by U.S. News for Penn State remain strong, including 16 top-25 ratings (four in the top 10) for select programs in engineering and business, among others. According to U.S. News’ methodology, these rankings are based solely on the judgments of the academic leadership and senior faculty in such programs who participated in a peer assessment survey.

• Penn State ranked at No. 21 out of 523 programs in “Best Undergraduate Business Programs.” The University also ranked well in a number of business specialty programs: supply chain management/logistics (8); production/operations management (11); management (17); marketing (24); and accounting (25).
• Penn State ranked at No. 19 out of 208 schools in "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs," at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate. The University also ranked well in a number of engineering specialties: materials (9); industrial/manufacturing (9); biological/agricultural (10); civil (13); mechanical (15); aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical (15); environmental/environmental health (15); chemical (20); computer (25); and electrical/electronic/communications (27).
• Penn State’s rankings also include No. 31 out of 656 institutions for "Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs,” and No. 40 out of 554 ranked for “Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs.”
• New for the 2024 edition are two rankings in “Best Undergraduate Psychology Programs,” in which Penn State is No. 34 out of 542; and “Best Undergraduate Economics Programs,” in which Penn State is No. 41 out of 309.

"Penn State’s quality remains as strong as ever,” Schwartz said. “We are among the top public universities in the nation and the world. We remain committed to excellence within our mission of teaching, research and service, and to providing access to a world-class education for all qualified Pennsylvanians.”

The University also ranked at No. 36 out of 175 programs among national universities in “Best Colleges for Veterans,” a rating that includes top-ranked schools that make pursuing a college education more affordable for veterans and active-duty service members. The University consistently scores well in other veteran-focused rankings, including U.S. News’ “Best Online Programs for Veterans” and Military Times’ “Best for Vets: Colleges,” in which Penn State World Campus ranks No. 1 in Pennsylvania, No. 3 in the Mid-Atlantic, and No. 5 for primarily online education in the nation.

Penn State has a large network of students, staff and faculty who have military ties as either service members, veterans or military dependents across 24 campuses and the World Campus. The Office of Veterans Affairs and Services supports military-connected students by enabling their access to all aspects of higher education and empowering them to succeed while at Penn State and as they transition to post-education endeavors.

Penn State continues to place highly in rankings released by organizations with methodologies that focus on faculty and research excellence. In the 2023 Center for World University Rankings poll, Penn State ranked No. 54 out of 2,000 institutions internationally for the quality of its education, employability, faculty and research. In June, the University rose to No. 83 in the world in the 2024 QS World University Rankings, and came in No. 8 among all public U.S. universities.

Also, Penn State’s sustainability efforts were recognized by Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings, where the University ranked No. 3 in the U.S. and No. 40 worldwide, and last fall the QS sustainability rankings placed Penn State No. 38 in the world.

LAST UPDATED SEPTEMBER 18, 2023